The news of Sif's voice caused a great stir in the village, even with circumstances accepted. He had walked among them voiceless for so long, after all; and despite appearing as such a comely maiden, he now spoke in a man's voice! Such a noble one, at that!

As Sif sat by the creek, watching minnows dart back and forth while he sunned on a rock, some of the village girls came up to do their laundry.

" Lord Hélna!" one of them greeted. " You're contemplating the water?"

" I'm thinking of having fish for my supper," he replied, eyeing a particularly fat one.

The girls giggled amongst themselves, as they were wont to do.

" Lord Hélna, how can you stand eating fish after killing that wraith!" one of them exclaimed.

" Well," he said, " I thought about eating her too."

They laughed louder than ever, one girl wiping tears from her eyes with hands reddening from scrubbing the wash.

" Truly, my Lord, you're too much!" she said. "Having a tongue has emboldened you so!"

" Ah, isn't it so good that Lord Hélna has a man's voice!" one of the others replied. " To hear a maiden's say so would knock me dead!"

Making a religious sign, another laughed still.

" Don't speak it in vain, lest it be so!" her friend giggled. " Lord Hélna, you must never speak as a woman, for this poor Hilne would die!"

" Poor girls, I definitely shall not," he said, amused. But they were a bit too noisy, and the washing scared his fish away, anyway; so he took his leave.

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